


For Alor and Aliit

by Vanniard



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Co-parents to lovers, Everyone Needs A Hug, Friends to Lovers, I Blame The DinLuke Server, If The Darksabre is Sapient then I guess, Luke Skywalker Jumped To Conclusions, M/M, Major Character Death (x2), Major character death - Freeform, No Beta We Die Like Luke's Students, Not Beta Read, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The angst train is back, but NOT FOR LONG LOL, choo choo bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29108973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanniard/pseuds/Vanniard
Summary: "I sense a great darkness around Ben. I have for some time."-"I trust you, don't do anything else until I get back."A look at what happens on the night where Ben destroys Luke's academy and leaves to become Kylo Ren, but with our favourite Mandalorian in the mix.(I am so sorry)
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 22
Kudos: 67





	For Alor and Aliit

**Master Skywalker’s Jedi Temple, Planet Unknown, System Unknown**

Din was beginning to worry. That’s not to say he doesn’t usually worry, but rather that what he was worrying about currently was of higher importance than whether or not Grogu had gotten his hands on another innocent amphibian from the lake outside the temple.

He had been going on various small bounties while Luke was training Grogu and the rest of the force-sensitive womp-rats they had collected over the years. Din would do some bounties, get paid, go to the temple, spend time with Grogu and the rest of the temple’s inhabitants and then go get supplies for the temple with the credits he had earned. It was a constant. A routine that Din could ground himself and settle down with. Not stagnant, but still able to return to a home at the end of the hunt.

All this had been done while Din still had the title of Mand’alor, ‘sole’ Ruler of Mandalore. ‘Sole’ because he had strong-armed Bo-Katan into faring the political battlefront while Din was off galivanting through the galaxy, directing wayward Mandalorians back to Mandalore in between bounties and giving speeches to his people only when absolutely necessary. No one was challenging him for the Darksabre and Bo-Katan still refused to take the blasted thing back. You would think after 12 years she would think him ready to be booted off the throne? Not to mention, and Din’s ire was always slightly spiked at this, his title as ruler also gave him a unique moniker: Mand’alor The Reluctant. Go figure.

He was busy returning from one previously mentioned bounty-spree. He has been getting worried because in the last few communications he had had with Luke Skywalker, the man had seemed to be very distracted. When Din would ask what was wrong, Luke would give a small shake of his hair (hair which had gotten rather long and unkempt in his later years), put a small smile on his face and change the subject to what the _ad’ika_ had tried to eat recently.

Din’s communicator started blinking and gave off a soft sequence of beeps. Upon answering it, a small hologram of Luke appeared. “I’m about 5 hours out from exiting hyperspace.” Says Din in lieu of greeting. Luke gives a small sigh and levels Din with a look that means something big has happened, is happening or will happen. Din tilts his helmet down and to the side. “I know what that look means, what is happening?” Luke looks behind him, probably to check if any of the students are listening in. “I’m about to do something that will probably haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Future tense: will happen. “Will you tell me what you are going to do?” Luke looks torn between telling Din and just ending the holocall then and there. “I sense a great darkness around Ben. I have for some time. I do not know how or why he came into contact with something Dark or if he has brought this upon himself through his actions alone. I am worried he might be in too deep.” Unseen to Luke, Din’s eyebrows rise a fair bit. “The prodigal nephew? Ben is better than that Luke. He adores you and your teaching.” Luke sighs heavily. “You haven’t seen him recently. He’s withdrawn in class, and that’s if he doesn’t storm out of them mid-demonstration. He has also gotten quite aggressive while sparring with me or the other more advanced students.”

For all that Din could see how this could be worked out peacefully, he knew that Luke was worried. More worried than Din was worried for him. There seemed to be a lot of worrying about going around. “Can’t you just talk to the kid?” Din was going to have to be the voice of reason this time around. “I don’t think its that simple.” Luke brushes his hand through the beard that has formed on his face. Din teases him endlessly for it. “I won’t do anything rash; I promise. I’ll just do some _reconnaissance_ before I speak to him.”

“You mean you’re going to probe him.”

“No! I’m just going to-.”

“You’re going to probe him.”

“Yes, I’m going to probe him.”

“Luke, you know how I feel about that.” Din sighs heavily. Luke has a sheepish look on his face. “Din, I can’t go into this blind. Especially when the Dark Side is involved.” Din gives Luke a scathing look (not that he can see it) and turns to some of the controls next to him. “If you really feel this is necessary, Luke, then I will trust you, but please, don’t do anything else until I get back. Its literally only 4 hours and 47 minutes until I disengage from hyperspace.” Luke gives a slight roll of his eyes. “I promise, Din, nothing bad will happen before you get here.”

“You say that as if something will after I touch down.”

* * *

Luke ended the holocall after talking to Din for a bit more and lent against the console to compose himself. He promised Din he wouldn’t do anything rash. He won’t, he’ll just have a peek at what Ben has been up to, hopefully only thinking about things a teenage padawan should. It was approaching lights out and all the students should be in their rooms by now. He’ll wait another 3 hours before confronting Ben’s mind.

Luke stepped out of his hut 3 hours later. His mouth is set in a grim line and his stride is heavy and even. Ben’s hut was not that far from his. Luke doesn’t know if the shorter distance is a blessing or a curse. All too soon, he was standing in front of the small hut that Ben had taken as his own outside the temple. Luke uses the Force to open the door quietly, cloaking himself in the darkness and silence of the room.

Ben was fast asleep on his bed, above the covers due to the recent slightly-warmer-than-normal weather. Luke holds his hand out and focuses on the slumbering mind in front of him. What he sees puts literal fear of the Sith Hells in him. Luke’s instincts override his common sense, and his lightsabre is ignited and hanging over Ben’s face before he even realises what he has done. Luke’s face slackens and begins to move away but it is too late.

Ben’s eyes flutter open and lock onto the green lightsabre that Luke is holding in front of him. Before Luke has the chance to explain, Ben grabs his own lightsabre beside and brings the blue blade up to lock against Luke’s. “Ben! Wait-.” but Ben has already brought his hand up and the wall behind them comes crashing down. In the distance, as Luke feels the concrete fall on top of him, he hears the sound of a ship touching down outside.

* * *

Din had just come out of hyperspace and was making his way to the small island on the southern hemisphere of the planet. He never asked Luke what the planet’s name was but somehow, he thinks Luke doesn’t know it either. As he touches down in the clearing a little way off from the temple (stars know those students will wake up if he lands any closer) he feels a sense of wrongness come over him. Something is not right.

It does not help when he hears someone start screaming. Din throws himself down the ladder from the cockpit and all but flies out of the entrance hatch with his jetpack. Din had not been able to see much from the ship’s viewport but now that he was outside, he could see the fiery destruction that was Luke’s beloved temple. Din could see one of the students running towards him.

“Mr Mando! You have to help us; Ben has gone mad!” The young Nautolan girl looked close to tears. Din wanted to find Luke and strangle him, but first, he had to find Ben and put a stop to this. “Do you know where he is?” The girl gave a slight nod and pointed her training sabre in the direction of a small grouping of huts where most of the students bunked together. “Mr Mando! Before you go, I need to tell you where Grogu is!” _Dank Farrik_ , the kid. His _son._ “Where is he?” Din felt a twist in his gut at forgetting about his _ad’ika._

“I saw him hiding by the lake! I was about to go get him, but I saw you land, and I thought you should know what’s going on first!” The girl wrapped her arms around herself and sat on the ground in front of Din and started sobbing. Din crouched down and put one of his hands on her shoulder. “Thank you for telling me, young one. I want you to go to the ship and stay there. I’ll find the others and direct them here as well. Do _not_ leave the ship unless Master Skywalker or I come to get you, ok?” The girl looked up and gave a shaky nod. Din helped her up and she ran past him to the ship.

Din made short time of getting to the lake. “Grogu? Kid! Where are you?” Din paced around the edge of the lake by the longer reeds. “Birr?” Din almost cried in relief. Grogu poked his little head out of a particularly thick clump of reeds. Din scooped him up and touched their foreheads together lightly. “It’s ok, _ad’ika_ , I’ve got you. You’re ok.” Din activated his jetpack and speed back to the ship. The Nautolan girl peeked out the hatch and sagged with relief. “I want you to look after him and protect him while I’m busy, can you do that?” Din did not wait for a spoken answer and instead deposits Grogu into her outstretched arms. “I’ll be back Grogu, I promise.” Without much further prompt, Din turned away from the ship again and now made his way to the cluster of huts where the girl had said Ben would be.

Din was worried because he had not seen Luke yet. Wouldn’t he have sensed Din landing? Din did not ponder on it long because he heard another scream from the students’ sleeping quarters. Din weaved his way between the huts and pauses when he sees one of the much younger students lying on the ground. He rushes over to the kid and turns him over. The kid isn’t breathing, and they don’t have a pulse. Din feels sick. He picks up the child (a _child_ ) and moves them to an out-of-the-way position, so their body does not suffer more from the flames licking out the windows of the huts.

Din hears lightsabres hissing as they made contact with each other. Din rounds the corner of the hut in front of him in time to see Ben cut down one of his fellow students. “Ben! What are you doing?” Ben freezes like a loth cat caught in speederlights. Din moves towards Ben slowly with his hands raised in a hopefully placating gesture. Ben grimaces and spits out his answer. “What should have been done a long time ago.”

“These are your fellow students, Ben! You cut them down as if they are your enemies! Can’t you see what you are doing is wrong? Where is your uncle? We can talk this out peacefully.” Ben levels him with a look. “There is no peace.” Ben steps over the body of his peer and spins his lightsabre in his hand to enforce some sort of intimidation. Din’s hand unconsciously moves to where the Darksabre is holstered to his thigh. Ben sees this and sneers. “Even you are afraid. Afraid that I have finally realised how powerful I can be without the restraints of my uncle’s precious _Light Side_ teachings.” Din swallows inaudibly. Where the kriff was Luke? “I’m not afraid of you Ben, I am _mildly concerned_ at the fact that you are _killing people without a good kriffing reason_!”

Ben barks out a harsh laugh that does not suit his young face. “They are training to be Jedi! They herd together and hide behind the Light Side of the force as some sort of higher moral standing, believing that they are above taking something from the galaxy as their own. They are _weak._ I have been enlightened and I have a more powerful master to learn from.” Din is torn. This is Luke’s nephew, the boy he watched grow up from the side-lines. The boy who was the first to befriend Grogu upon his arrival to the temple. Luke was right. Something has gone terribly wrong and terribly dark.

Din does not get another chance to try and talk Ben down. Luke’s nephew rushes at him with a feral yell. Din does not want to admit it, but he fumbled slightly in his haste to bring the Darksabre up to defend himself. Void black clashes against sky blue in a static scream. Din doesn’t want to hurt Ben, but he also doesn’t want Ben to hurt more people. Incapacitating him will have to be Din’s main priority. Then Din can find Luke and they can sort this nightmare out in a more stable environment. Din and Ben keep trading blows, spinning around each other ad trying to trip each other up. Ben seems to be giving it his all and Din, who will always be more proficient at weapons than other people so Ka’ra help him, is just trying to find an opening to force Ben to yield.

“Stop this madness, Ben! What would your mother think about this? Or your father? You would throw your family away for some stranger who promises to teach you nothing but anarchy and greed?” Din knew it was a low blow bringing Ben’s parents into this, but he really needs Ben to falter somehow. It does the opposite of what Din intended. Ben jumps away from an oncoming swing from the Darksabre and thrusts his hand out at Din. Din feels himself get thrown backwards and pinned to the ground. He also feels something unseen tighten around his throat. Din uselessly claws at his neck with his one hand in an attempt to open his airways. His other keeps the Darksabre out in front of him.

Ben stalks over to Din and slashes at the hand holding the Darksabre. Din does not have a voice to scream in pain. Ben hovers the Darksabre to where it is visible to Din and promptly crushes thousands of years of Mandalorian history and heritage. Din can feel something break inside him. “Do not bring my family into this, Mandalorian. Really, you should be on my side. The Sith and Mandalorians were always allies in the past, to my knowledge, so why not now? If you want to protect your people you should join me and my master.” If Din could, he would have spat at Ben’s shoes. Ben lessens his hold on Din only enough for him to respond. “My people are stronger than they have ever been for many years. They do not need the help of the Sith or the Jedi for their continued existence. We endure while you Sith fight for dominance with your petty ideologies of chaos.” Din’s voice is hoarse but his hostility towards Ben is clear enough.

“Pity,” is all that Ben says before he plunges his lightsabre into Din's gut. The air surrounding them was already hot with the heat from the flames engulfing the huts, but Din now feels as if he is the one on fire. The tightness around his throat has been released and he can now scream at the burning pain in his stomach.

One of the collapsed huts nearby suddenly explodes outwards and from it stands a figure, Luke. Ben sees this. His eyes widen and he runs off into the night so that he does not have to face his uncle in combat. Luke turns around and sees Din lying on the ground, clutching his stomach with his one good hand. “Din!” Luke stumbles out of the rubble surrounding him and runs to Din’s side and collapses on his knees. “L-Luke.” Luke gives out a sob and presses his hand against Din’s wound where blood was steadily flowing out. “Luke, _cyar’ika_ , there’s nothing you can do. _Ni jate, ni jate_.”

“No Din! You are not okay, but you will be, we just have to get you to the ship.” Din brings his hand up to Luke’s face and caresses his cheek. “It’s my time, Luke. I won’t make it back.” Luke leans into the touch. “But it's my fault! You told me not to do anything rash and look what’s happened! I kriffed up, Din, and now my students are dead or have fled with Ben. I'm sorry, I am so sorry. It’s all my fault.” Din brushes away some of the tears on Luke’s face, but his hand is shaking. “Don’t say sorry. You shield yourself with apologies all the time, Luke. Don’t let it be the only thing between living your life and living it with guilt.” Din tries to give him a smile, but it ends up as a grimace instead (not that Luke can see). “Luke, Grogu and one of your students are safe, they’re waiting at my ship. You need to get them out of here. Look after my son for me, please.”

“I can’t do this without you Din! Please, don’t leave me.”

“I won’t be gone, _shi taab’echaaj’la_.”

Luke gives out another sob and leans his head against Din’s helmet. “Luke, I want you to take my helmet off.” Din’s voice is soft and vulnerable. Luke shakily lifts the helm off Din’s head and sees his Mandalorian friend’s face for the first time since their first meeting all those years ago. Din’s hair is slick with sweat and Luke can see where the grey hairs are spreading from his temple. “Oh, Din.”

There is blood trickling down from Din’s lips. “Luke, you and Grogu have been the closest thing to family, to _aliit,_ that I’ve had in a long time. I would not trade that for anything.” Din tries to smile again despite the red liquid coming from his lips. “Damn it, Din! You don’t get to do this. I _love_ you!” Din stops smiling. “Y-you do?” Luke’s laugh is small, but Din’s ears sing at being able to hear it one last time. “Of course, you idiot, you don’t co-parent a child with someone for 12 years without developing _some_ feelings for them.”

Din could feel himself slipping. He did not have much time left. “Luke, you should go now, I- it won’t be long now. I love you too. I love you so much.” With great effort, Din pulls Luke’s face down to his and kisses him. Luke reciprocates and the kiss deepens. Din pulls back and coughs. At least he has this before he dies.

“Go to Grogu and your student and run. Don’t look back and do not come back for me later. I have spoken.” Luke’s eyes widen. There is blood on his cheek now.

“But-.”

“No, Luke, I have spoken. _Go_.”

Luke bends down and kisses him one last time before he jumps up and runs in the direction of the ship. Din can see him stumble but not once does he look back. Good. With Luke’s presence gone, the pain Din was feeling earlier resurfaces tenfold. His time as ‘Alor to his people is over and his _aliit_ will be okay without him. He was ready.

The stars look beautiful tonight, and now Din gets to join them.

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a Translations:
> 
> -ad'ika (child)  
> -cyar'ika (darling, sweetheart)  
> -Ni jate (I'm ok [lit. I'm good])  
> -shi taab’echaaj’la (only marching far away)  
> -aliit (family)  
> -Alor (leader, chief)
> 
> I'm back at it again with the angsty major character death. I am sorry I do this to you guys but a writer must when the plot bunnies say go.  
> Please comment and kudo (if you believe it warrants one, I don't blame you if you don't). I would love to hear your thoughts about this!


End file.
